Monday, September 28, 2015

Do you recognize ways in which your
students could have a richer yoga practice experience if they could release
their strongly held views of “wrong” and “right”? Do you wish they could just
trust what their inner knowing can tell them is best for them as individuals? In
the first part of this series, I introduced this dynamic through describing a
student of mine who presently seems unable to look to herself for her own answers,
instead constantly seeking reassurance from me that she’s doing it “right”. I
suspect, dear readers, that you’ve encountered similar students.

That behavior, and these students’ underlying
lack of confidence in themselves as practitioners, is problematic in a few
aspects. Firstly, it limits the potential of their practices because they know
things about themselves, things that impact the practices that are best for
them, that we instructors could never fully grasp. Furthermore, lack of
willingness to look inward for answers stands in the way of their growth into
individuals who can find what is right for themselves within themselves – a key part of our journeys
as yoga practitioners.

So, all of this considered, how can we
guide our students to listen to, to trust, themselves as yoga practitioners?
How can we boost their confidence when they come from a culture that all too
often tells them that their choices are “wrong”? Firstly, we can foster full
and open communication between ourselves and our students. As yoga instructors,
it helps us to hear students tell us what does and does not feel right for
them, their goals, and the pertinent elements of their personal histories.

That helps us to lead them in practices
that more appropriately fit them, rather than the other way around. Even after
doing so – as we’re humans who make mistakes, and not perfect teaching robots
(how boring would that be?) – students who listen to their inner knowing can
make choices to follow what we offer, or make alternate choices (such as
resting in Child’s Pose versus taking another Vinyasa flow sequence).

How can we foster that kind of
communication? Ideally, what does it sound, feel, and look like? In Part I of
this series I described how I tried to deliver these ideas to my student – some
of which I would repeat, given the chance, and some of which I know that I
could have approached more tactfully and articulately. Otherwise, we can offer
students further resources on yogic perspectives and philosophies. There are
countless videos, books, websites, et cetera on those topics – accessible and
(likely) appealing to all types of people. Perhaps - if they might have the
time, inclination, and intellectual capacity – they might even feel up to
tackling the Yoga Sutras or the Bhagavad
Gita.

If students can’t, or don’t want to,
approach these resources on their own, it’s always an option to cite phrases or
sentences from them at any point during our practices (full credit given, of
course). Many instructors also read passages from such texts at the beginning
of classes - or at some point before, during, or to end Savasana. When teachers do this in classes that I take, it most
often adds something truly special to my experience of that day’s practice. Exposure
to these sources can help students to more fully understand, and hopefully
embrace, the yogic view of finding one’s own right path.

That aside, the ways that we directly
converse with our students - during classes and in those moments before and
after classes - largely determine the success level of the overall
communication between us. If we take a commanding attitude over our students -
telling them to execute this or that posture, at this or that time, never
leaving space for them to ask questions - we convey that they must seek their
answers in us. On the other hand, we can ask them meaningful questions,
encourage them to ask questions of us, and offer various modifications of
separate postures (also emphasizing that they are more than free to choose of
those what they think is best for them).

Those actions send them the message that
their inner knowing has value, and is even important for finding what is truly
right for them. All of that communication is also possible before and after our
classes, if we arrive early and stick around afterwards. Even our actions of
leaving that space for communication and collaboration open, before and after
our classes, is meaningful; it indicates to our students that their concerns,
desires, stories of their experiences, questions, et cetera are worth that
extra time to us.Those messages
contrast Western society’s overarching message that there is a “right” and a “wrong”
way decided by someone or something apart from themselves, with what is “right”
being what they must strive for – their individuality inconsequential.

As yoga instructors, we are positioned to
help them learn another, more fulfilling way of being and believing – one that
is found within yoga. We can help them learn to respect their inner voices, and
thus maybe even live fuller lives off of the mat. As an instructor, to me that
is a gift – yet a place of responsibility. We instructors, therefore, owe it to
our students to remain mindful of this dynamic, and perform our duties as
instructors accordingly. As always, I’d love to hear your views on the topic,
dear readers – so please comment below. On
Shanti!

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Do
you find yourself trying to boost your students’ confidence as yoga
practitioners, they are constantly wondering whether they’re “doing it right”? In
my view, those type of self-doubts come from a Western culture mindset that
often defines achievement very narrowly, that there is always a right and a
wrong way. Yoga, on the other hand, teaches that there are many different paths
towards success – the path, and the nature of success itself, different for
everyone. This dynamic has been on my mind recently, as I’ve begun working with
an upper-middle-class, female, middle-aged client in private yoga lessons. I’ll
call her Lacey (for confidentiality purposes).

She is a very
dedicated and hard-working student, with a level of committed focus that I
truly appreciate. At points, however, she expresses a lack of confidence in her
own abilities and an attitude of “just tell me how to do it right”. At one
point, she even expressed outright that she is frustrated because “I feel like
I’m not doing it right…because you keep correcting me and adjusting me”. I
tried, I think successfully, to take a deep breath and overcome a rising
judgmental view (“what?” was an
initial, more primal thought in my head). I explained to her that I’m not doing
those things because she’s doing anything “wrong”, but only to help her deepen
her yoga practice experience as well as ensure that she avoids injury.

At other times when
she has insisted that I tell her how to do it “right”, I’ve come back with a
variation of “Well, how does it feel for you?”. I’m trying to help her to get
closer to the point when she can listen to her own body’s wisdom, rather than
needing my reassurance. I can see that this frustrates her a bit further, but
those types of feelings are part of personal growth. Despite that frustration,
she showers me with thanks and joy at the end of our practices. Perhaps part of
her knows that she is undergoing important personal growth through yoga.

One other time she
described a belief something like (I’m paraphrasing, as I don’t remember her
exact statement) that there must be a right and a wrong way to do a posture. I
first told her, perhaps a bit of my own frustration kicking in, that she likely
thinks that way because she grew up in a
culture that puts forth that type of black-and-white view. Feeling more
composed, I then described the yogic idea that rather than correct and
incorrect, there are different things that are right for separate individuals
(yes, with certain universal guidelines for safety and practice effectiveness).

Apart
from my own feelings as an instructor, I wish to see her grow closer towards
that view so that she can more fully experience everything that yoga has to
offer. When our students are always looking to us for answers, it’s often
because they don’t believe that they have those answers inside of themselves –
or, they don’t trust their inner voices. If they never listen to their inner
voices, or trust what they hear those voices say, they won’t be able to learn a
key lesson of yoga – as I described, that our own answers are right inside of
ourselves.

We know ourselves –
our histories, our dreams, our strengths, our growth areas – better than any
certified instructor ever could. In the larger scope of our lives, listening to
our inner knowledge can lead us to make choices that will lead us to fulfilling
our dharma, our life’s true purpose.
With that reached, true happiness and fulfillment (Samadhi, in yogic terms) is possible. At the level of instructor
and student relationships within yoga classes, students need to listen to their
inner knowledge so that they can collaborate
with us – rather than just follow our instructions.

There’s always
another side to the story, and there is
something to be said for having a healthy respect for one’s limitations as a
practitioner. For instance, beginners who over-confidently believe that they
can “handle” an advanced inversions and arm balances class would likely only feel
frustrated and limited, not to mention risk seriously injuring themselves! When
instructors offer advanced variations in classes, it often keeps practitioners
safe and settled to objectively acknowledge that they’re not at that level in
practice just quite yet – and thus take different variations.

To do just that,
however - to know what is accessibleto oneself as a practitioner - takes
confidence in itself. That comes right along with the mature inner knowing that
tells practitioners what would not benefit them to attempt, just at this stage
of their individual yoga journeys. Yoga helps us to detach from the limiting
emotional ties that we have to ourselves, to put ourselves in perspective, with
all of our strengths and growth areas. Please stay tuned for the second part of
this series, in which I’ll describe further implications of boosting student
confidence and helping them listen to themselves more consistently. I’ll also
offer tips for how to go about doing that. Until then, Namaste!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Teaching
Yoga to brand new students is both challenging and very rewarding. When a new
student comes through the door of your studio, he or she will most likely have
specific reasons for coming to your Yoga class. For many new students, their
main motivation for practicing is often physical. They may want to get into
better shape, hone their abs and lose a few pounds. Or they may have heard that
practicing Yoga will help to prevent injuries when they are engaging in other
sports, such as running on pavement or playing tennis.

Of
course, the many physical benefits of practicing a balanced series of Yoga
postures on a regular basis, is well-known to both exercise physiologists and
to experienced practitioners. By engaging in a flowing series of Yoga poses, which
includes strengthening postures as well as elongating forward bends, twists and
backbends, a student will experience greater physical energy, flexibility and
strength. However, during the initial stages of establishing a regular Yoga
practice, a brand new student will need to follow a manageable pace of postures
and breathing exercises.

As a
professional Yoga teacher, it is important for you to offer classes that
challenge your more experienced students, while still being accessible to new
students. This can be quite tricky, to say the least! You may find that
offering a series of Yoga classes, which are tailored specifically to
introducing your brand new students to the basic postures of the Sun Salutation
and other foundational poses, will help your new students to become familiar
and comfortable with the practice in a safe and non-intimidating manner. In
this way, you will be able to guide your new students through a slower pace of
asanas and pranayama techniques, in contrast to the pace that you would
normally set during a mixed level class.

If you do
not have enough brand new students to run a dedicated series of introductory
Yoga classes, by crafting an intelligently-sequenced and easily modifiable
series of asanas for a mixed level group of students, you will be able to set
an accessible pace for your new students, as well as a satisfying and
challenging pace for your more experienced students. It is very important that
you emphasize safety and respect for one’s own individual level of fitness,
flexibility and strength, during the course of your classes. By honoring his or
her physical capabilities on a given day, the likelihood of sustaining an
injury or burnout is much lower.

This is
particularly true of your brand new students. For instance, you may have a new
student in your Yoga class who is quite physically fit, but who has very
limited flexibility. Although this student may feel that he or she can fully
extend into Triangle Pose without a hitch, by doing so without maintaining proper alignment in the posture, he or she may sustain an injury during class.
And, as we all know, walking away from a Yoga class feeling worse than when you
started is the quickest way to take the proverbial wind out of a brand new
student’s sails!

By
setting a manageable pace during the course of teaching Yoga to brand new
students, you will help to optimize their ongoing enjoyment and success during
the practice. If your students keep coming back to Yoga class, their practice
will continue to deepen, as the repertoire of poses that they can practice
safely and correctly will broaden naturally over time. Do not be demoralized if
you have to keep reminding your new students of the correct alignment of the
postures. Over time, teaching a “do-able” and balanced sequence of Yoga poses,
pranayama exercises and relaxation techniques will create vibrant physical
health and emotional well being, for both your new and experienced students
alike.

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an academic support specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.